Arthroscopic surgery is a surgical procedure performed on a joint of the body, the instruments working through a small slit in the skin.
Patients who receive arthroscopic surgery, as compared to traditional surgery with its large incisions, experience decreased recovery time and a reduced number of complications.
But the limitations of arthroscopic surgery imposed on the surgeon, including confined access created by small incisions and decreased working volume, create issues for surgeons. For example, a surgeon's hands cannot directly reach into the surgical site to retrieve a suture or tie a knot. The result is that the complexity, from the perspective of the surgeon, is increased.
Given that conventional needle and suture thread cannot access the surgical site, an alternative is needed.
What is needed is a simple, reliable device that allows suture to be passed to the surgical site, and then manipulated in-place, for use within surgical sites with limited access.